EP0250959A2 - Procédé d'étalonnage d'instruments de mesure de réflexion - Google Patents

Procédé d'étalonnage d'instruments de mesure de réflexion Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0250959A2
EP0250959A2 EP87108370A EP87108370A EP0250959A2 EP 0250959 A2 EP0250959 A2 EP 0250959A2 EP 87108370 A EP87108370 A EP 87108370A EP 87108370 A EP87108370 A EP 87108370A EP 0250959 A2 EP0250959 A2 EP 0250959A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
reflectance
sample
standard
calculating
measuring
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
EP87108370A
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German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP0250959A3 (en
EP0250959B1 (fr
Inventor
David M. Cooper
Ralph S. Hernicz
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Bayer Corp
Original Assignee
Miles Inc
Miles Laboratories Inc
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Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Miles Inc, Miles Laboratories Inc filed Critical Miles Inc
Publication of EP0250959A2 publication Critical patent/EP0250959A2/fr
Publication of EP0250959A3 publication Critical patent/EP0250959A3/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0250959B1 publication Critical patent/EP0250959B1/fr
Expired legal-status Critical Current

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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N21/00—Investigating or analysing materials by the use of optical means, i.e. using sub-millimetre waves, infrared, visible or ultraviolet light
    • G01N21/17—Systems in which incident light is modified in accordance with the properties of the material investigated
    • G01N21/47—Scattering, i.e. diffuse reflection
    • G01N21/4785—Standardising light scatter apparatus; Standards therefor

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a new and improved method of calibrating reflectance measuring devices and to a method of measuring light reflectance from a test specimen. More particularly, the invention is directed to a method of calibration of, measurement and measurement correction of light reflectance in a light reflectance device that incorporates an automatic gain or sensitivity setting.
  • Light reflectance measurement from a single, secondary reflectance standard prior to measurement of reflectance from a test sample, enables the cal­culation of accurate true reflectances from the test specimen reflectance measurement.
  • Reflectance ratio is the ratio of the intensity of light reflected from a sample to the intensity of light incident on the sample. It is relatively easy to measure the intensity of light reflected from a sample, however, measuring the light incident on the sample is more diffi­cult. Incident light has been measured by plac­ing a primary reflectance standard in a readhead of a spectrophotometer and, by knowing the true reflectance at the operational wavelength of the device, the incident light can be back-calculated from the detected reflectance. Reflectance of the test sample then is determined from the inten­sity of light reflected from the test sample divided by the intensity of light reflected from the primary reflectance standard multiplied by the known reflectance of the reflectance standard. This technique assumes that there is no stray light within the reflectance measuring device, but this assumption is wrong and leads to signi­ficant measurement errors.
  • a process of compensating for radiation variances in a spectrophotometer light source is disclosed in United States Patent No. 3,245,305.
  • the spectrophotometer described in this patent employs two light sources and means for sensing the relative intensities of the radiation from the two sources.
  • the device of U.S. Patent No. 3,245,305 also includes means for altering the intensity of the radiation from one light source. Additional apparatus is provided to be responsive to the sensing apparatus for automatically chang­ing the intensity of the radiation from one light source to keep the ratio of the intensity of the two sources constant. This device does not mea­sure the incident light directly. Further, the requirement of a second light source and the attendant electronics increases the complexity and cost of the device and its use.
  • United States Patent No. 3,646,33l discloses a method and apparatus for correcting radiation measurment errors in a spectrophoto­meter by digitizing the output of a l00% line input at selected discrete wavelengths.
  • a factor called a M factor
  • M factors are each stored, and during a sample measurement by the spectrophotometer, each of the stored M factors is synchronously applied to multiply the input signal derived from the signal, thereby generating a corrected output.
  • This apparatus and method completely neglects the 0% reflectance value, whereby a significant, inherent error is introduced into the apparatus and method.
  • United States Patent No. 4,3l0,243 discloses a spectrophotometer and a method of simultaneously compensating for the dark current of a photomultiplier tube and the offset of an operational amplifier in the spectrophotometer, so that the output voltage of the operational amplifier is zero volts under dark conditions. Although this patent discloses a technique for compensating for the dark signal of a detector, it does not account for stray light.
  • An object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved method for calibrat­ing reflectance measuring devices.
  • Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved method of measur­ing light reflectance from a test sample.
  • Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved method for cali­brating reflectance measuring devices that incor­porate automatic gain or sensitivity setting capability or are otherwise subject to significant sensitivity changes due to time, use and environ­mental conditions.
  • a further object of the present inven­tion is to provide a new and improved method for calibrating reflectance measuring devices that minimizes error due to stray light.
  • a still further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved method for calibrating a reflectance measuring device that minimizes the time needed for recalibration.
  • Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved method of cali­brating a reflectance measuring device to correct a detected value without recalibrating the device prior to each measurement.
  • a further object of the present inven­tion is to provide a new and improved method for calibrating a reflectance measuring device that calculates stray light and is independent of the gain set of the device.
  • the present invention is directed to a new and improved method of cali­brating reflectance measuring instruments, such as spectrophotometers, and to a method of measur­ing light reflectance from a test sample.
  • the method of the present invention is particularly useful for reflecto­meters that incorporate an automatic gain or sensitivity setting or are otherwise subject to significant sensitivity changes due to time, use and environmental conditions.
  • a significant problem in reflectance measuring instruments is the need to constantly recalibrate the instrument due to sensitivity changes. If the instrument is used at several wavelengths and sensitivities vary often, recalibration can be time consuming, and the utility of the instrument ultimately suffers.
  • measured reflectance has been dependent on the gain set of the instrument. For example, over the life of these instruments, the light source decays and the electronics change. To compensate for these fluctuations, and to keep the light reflected off the sample being measured high thereby providing maximum resolution, the gain is reset prior to each measurement.
  • the present invention provides a method to avoid dependence of reflectance measurements on spectrophotometer sensitivity or gain setting and to minimize the error by accurate detection or measurement of stray light.
  • the present inven­tion is directed to a calibration process or method wherein the reflectance of a single, second­ary reflectance standard disposed within the readhead is measured just prior to measurement of an unknown test specimen.
  • a set of two coeffi­cients, determined at each operational wavelength of the reflectance measuring device, is used to calculate reflectance of the unknown test speci­men.
  • a reflectance standard installation or recalibration process, using a set of at least two, and generally three to five, primary reflec­tance calibration standards is used to determine and store the coefficients.
  • the set of primary reflectance standards provides the final calibra­tion of the instrument.
  • the single secondary reflectance standard disposed within the readhead achieves quick, short-term calibration of the instrument.
  • Reflectance measuring instruments such as spectrophotometers, are used to measure reflectance from samples such as, for example, reagent strips.
  • the instrument reading can be, for example, a measure of light reflectance from one or more constituents in a blood sample, such as glucose.
  • the spectro­photometer is an instrument designed to measure reflectance at a selected wavelength corresponding to a specific color.
  • the present invention is directed to a method of calibrating reflectance measuring devices, such as spectrophotometers, resulting in measurements that are independent of device sensitivity or gain set of the instrument and minimizing the error due to the affect of stray light within the readhead of the device.
  • a secondary reflectance standard is disposed within a sample aperture of the readhead of the reflectance measuring appara­tus to obtain a secondary reflectance measurement, while the sample also is disposed near or within the readhead.
  • calibration constants for stray light (p o ) and a secondary reflectance standard (p c ) are determined for each operational wavelength of the instrument and stored in the instrument's memory.
  • the instrument need not be recalibrated prior to each test speci­men measurement since the true reflectance of a test specimen (p s ) can be calculated from the measured reflectance (r s ) without being affected by instrument sensitivity or gain. Accordingly, in accordance with an important feature of the process of the present invention, primary reflec­tance standards are no longer required to cali­brate the reflectance instrument.
  • a reflectance measuring device produces a numerical output reading (r s ) that is propor­tional to the true sample reflectance (p s ) as viewed by the readhead.
  • K is a scaling factor that includes instrument sensitivity or gain. K can be held constant for short periods, typically minutes, but often has long-term variation due to design, ambient conditions, or use.
  • p o accounts for the affects of stray light, which afflict all reflectance measuring instruments to some degree. Stray light, which cannot be removed by simple dark reading subtraction, affects the output reading (r s ) the same as if a small additional offset reflectance, p o , were present in the readhead along with the sample.
  • a data set of the form: (p l , r l ), (p2, r2) . >(p n , r n ) results at each wavelength of operation of the instrument.
  • the primary reflectance standards can be constructed, for example, by loading Plexiglas with varying mix­tures of BaSO4 and carbon black. The samples then can be measured on a Cary l7 Spectrophoto­meter. These measurements are traceable to the National Bureau of Standards.
  • p s true sample reflec­tance
  • the reflectance of an unknown test specimen can be calculated using equation (6) from readings of the sample (r s ) and the secondary standard reflectance (r c ) and from the appropriate stored values of p c and p o . This calculation is independent of spectrophotometer sensitivity (part of K) as long as K is stable during the reflectance readings of the secondary standard and the unknown sample.
  • the process as described provides two constants (p c and p o ) that once determined for each wavelength, can be stored in an erasable memory of each instrument.
  • the instruments then can be used to read the reflectance from the secondary standard (r c ) followed by a reading of the reflectance from the test specimen (r s ).
  • the electronics of the instrument make the calculation of equation (6) to determine quickly and accurately the true reflectance of the test specimen (p s ).
  • This measurement is independent of the gain (K) of the instrument and minimizes the error due to stray light. independence from the gain allows the instrument to be operated by a lay person, thereby reducing the cost of operation. The minimization of the error due to stray light increases the accuracy of the reading by the instrument thereby improving diagnosis.
  • FIG. l a readhead is schematically illustrated and generally designated by the reference numeral l0.
  • Readhead l0 is, for example, of the type used in spectrophotometers and is described more fully in United States Patent Application Serial No. 659,4l6, assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated by reference.
  • Readhead l0 includes a hemispherical upper wall l2 and a conical lower wall l4.
  • Mounted in the readhead l0 is a broad spectrum light source l6, preferably a Xenon flash lamp.
  • a sample aperture l8 is provided in the bottom of readhead l0 for separate positioning of the secondary reflectance standard (not shown) and a test specimen (not shown) that is to be measured.
  • a second aperture 20 is provided in the upper end of readhead l0 with first and second lenses 22 and 24 positioned in second aperture 20. First lens 22 is focused on the test specimen and second lens 24 is focused on the inside wall of readhead l0.
  • the secondary standard first is disposed within the aperture l8 in a predetermined posi­tion within the readhead l0 with the test speci­men also within the readhead l0 in a predetermined position to obtain a secondary standard reflec­tance measurement r c .
  • the test specimen is disposed within the aperture l8 of readhead l0 and the secondary standard disposed in a predetermined position within the readhead l0 to obtain a test specimen reflectance measure­ment r s .
  • light from light source l6 reflects from the inside of read­head l0 and impinges on the secondary reflectance standard and test sample from all directions.
  • the light reflected from the secondary reflectance standard and test sample is focused by lens 22 onto a first detector or photodiode 26.
  • Reflec­tance detected by photodiode 26 is measured by the instrument in accordance with known electron­ics to provide reflectance readings (r s and r c ) proportional, respectively, to the true reflectance of the test specimen (p s ) and the true reflectance of the secondary standard (p c ).
  • the second lens 24 focuses light reflected from the inside of readhead l0 onto a second detector or photodiode 28. The reading obtained from the second detector 28 is used to correct the reflectances r s and r c measured at photodiode 26 to compensate for short term variations in light from light source l6.
  • An interference filter 30 is disposed between the lenses 22 and 24 and the detectors 26 and 28 to allow only light of preselected wavelength to reach the detectors 26 and 28.
  • a reflectance measuring instrument such as a spectrophotometer (not shown) including the readhead l0 also includes electronics and a memory as well known in the art capable of performing the calculations described herein.
  • the instrument first reads a reflectance at a preselected operational wavelength from the secondary standard (r c ) allowing the instrument to compensate for long term drifts in the instru­ment by automatically changing the sensitivity or gain.
  • the test specimen then is positioned in aperture l8 and the secondary standard re­positioned to another preselected position within the readhead l0 for a measurement of the reflec­tance from the test sample (r s ).
  • the process of the present invention enables much faster and more accurate measurements than prior art methods since it is not necessary to calibrate the instru­ment prior to each measurement or reading.
  • the apparatus and method of the present invention also are convenient to the customer since a lay person easily can use the instrument.
  • the costs of purchasing the apparatus of the present invention to obtain reflectance measure­ments are much lower than the prior art since primary standards are not required and need not be maintained.
  • the present invention also is more accurate than the prior art processes since stray light is calculated and incorporated into the reflectance measurement calculations.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Analytical Chemistry (AREA)
  • Biochemistry (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Immunology (AREA)
  • Pathology (AREA)
  • Investigating Or Analysing Materials By Optical Means (AREA)
  • Spectrometry And Color Measurement (AREA)
EP87108370A 1986-06-23 1987-06-10 Procédé d'étalonnage d'instruments de mesure de réflexion Expired EP0250959B1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US877169 1986-06-23
US06/877,169 US4729657A (en) 1986-06-23 1986-06-23 Method of calibrating reflectance measuring devices

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0250959A2 true EP0250959A2 (fr) 1988-01-07
EP0250959A3 EP0250959A3 (en) 1989-09-13
EP0250959B1 EP0250959B1 (fr) 1992-05-13

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ID=25369402

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP87108370A Expired EP0250959B1 (fr) 1986-06-23 1987-06-10 Procédé d'étalonnage d'instruments de mesure de réflexion

Country Status (6)

Country Link
US (1) US4729657A (fr)
EP (1) EP0250959B1 (fr)
JP (1) JPS635240A (fr)
AU (1) AU574287B2 (fr)
CA (1) CA1297700C (fr)
DE (1) DE3778976D1 (fr)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5612782A (en) * 1993-11-22 1997-03-18 Spectra-Physics Visiontech Oy Calibration method and calibration unit for calibrating a spectrometric device based upon two calibration samples

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IT1237628B (it) * 1989-10-03 1993-06-12 Michele Gennaro De Metodo per misurare l'efficienza di una combustione e apparecchio per attuare il metodo.
US5162874A (en) * 1990-12-24 1992-11-10 Xerox Corporation Electrophotographic machine having a method and apparatus for measuring toner density by using diffuse electromagnetic energy
US5357336A (en) * 1991-08-08 1994-10-18 The Dow Chemical Company Method and apparatus for multivariate characterization of optical instrument response
JP3212779B2 (ja) * 1993-11-12 2001-09-25 富士写真フイルム株式会社 光学式分析装置の分光器の機差補正方法
US5597532A (en) * 1994-10-20 1997-01-28 Connolly; James Apparatus for determining substances contained in a body fluid
US5695949A (en) * 1995-04-07 1997-12-09 Lxn Corp. Combined assay for current glucose level and intermediate or long-term glycemic control
US6061128A (en) * 1997-09-04 2000-05-09 Avocet Medical, Inc. Verification device for optical clinical assay systems
US8564780B2 (en) * 2003-01-16 2013-10-22 Jordan Valley Semiconductors Ltd. Method and system for using reflectometry below deep ultra-violet (DUV) wavelengths for measuring properties of diffracting or scattering structures on substrate work pieces
US7126131B2 (en) * 2003-01-16 2006-10-24 Metrosol, Inc. Broad band referencing reflectometer
US20080246951A1 (en) * 2007-04-09 2008-10-09 Phillip Walsh Method and system for using reflectometry below deep ultra-violet (DUV) wavelengths for measuring properties of diffracting or scattering structures on substrate work-pieces
US7663097B2 (en) * 2004-08-11 2010-02-16 Metrosol, Inc. Method and apparatus for accurate calibration of a reflectometer by using a relative reflectance measurement
US7282703B2 (en) * 2004-08-11 2007-10-16 Metrosol, Inc. Method and apparatus for accurate calibration of a reflectometer by using a relative reflectance measurement
US7804059B2 (en) * 2004-08-11 2010-09-28 Jordan Valley Semiconductors Ltd. Method and apparatus for accurate calibration of VUV reflectometer
US7399975B2 (en) * 2004-08-11 2008-07-15 Metrosol, Inc. Method and apparatus for performing highly accurate thin film measurements
US7511265B2 (en) * 2004-08-11 2009-03-31 Metrosol, Inc. Method and apparatus for accurate calibration of a reflectometer by using a relative reflectance measurement
CA2584529C (fr) * 2004-11-24 2017-09-12 Garland Christian Misener Reflectometre et source lumineuse associee s'utilisant dans un analyseur chimique
US7663757B2 (en) * 2006-09-27 2010-02-16 Alberta Research Council Inc. Apparatus and method for obtaining a reflectance property indication of a sample
US20080129986A1 (en) * 2006-11-30 2008-06-05 Phillip Walsh Method and apparatus for optically measuring periodic structures using orthogonal azimuthal sample orientations
JP5274031B2 (ja) * 2008-01-25 2013-08-28 パナソニック株式会社 分析方法および分析装置
JP2009192336A (ja) * 2008-02-14 2009-08-27 Panasonic Corp 分析装置
JP5020219B2 (ja) * 2008-11-28 2012-09-05 パナソニック株式会社 分析方法および分析装置
US8310678B2 (en) * 2008-01-25 2012-11-13 Panasonic Corporation Analyzing device and analyzing method
US20090219537A1 (en) * 2008-02-28 2009-09-03 Phillip Walsh Method and apparatus for using multiple relative reflectance measurements to determine properties of a sample using vacuum ultra violet wavelengths
US8153987B2 (en) * 2009-05-22 2012-04-10 Jordan Valley Semiconductors Ltd. Automated calibration methodology for VUV metrology system
JP5540354B2 (ja) * 2010-04-30 2014-07-02 独立行政法人 宇宙航空研究開発機構 校正機能を備えた反射率及び反射濃度の計測方法及びそれを実施するシステム
US8867041B2 (en) 2011-01-18 2014-10-21 Jordan Valley Semiconductor Ltd Optical vacuum ultra-violet wavelength nanoimprint metrology
US8565379B2 (en) 2011-03-14 2013-10-22 Jordan Valley Semiconductors Ltd. Combining X-ray and VUV analysis of thin film layers

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
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Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
AU574287B2 (en) 1988-06-30
JPS635240A (ja) 1988-01-11
DE3778976D1 (de) 1992-06-17
AU7389087A (en) 1987-12-24
EP0250959A3 (en) 1989-09-13
CA1297700C (fr) 1992-03-24
US4729657A (en) 1988-03-08
EP0250959B1 (fr) 1992-05-13

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